Tuesday NBA sees a short slate of just three games. Although the Washington Wizards vs. Phoenix Suns isn’t going to move the needle much in terms of the national audience, both teams have a lot on the line.

It just so turns out that they have opposite things to play for.

The Suns, the worst team in the West, are playing for lottery position. The Wizards, one of the top three or four teams out East, are playing for playoff positioning.

This one should be a win for the Wiz based on each team’s motivation, but the question is: Can the Suns cover the spread?

*All statistics, standings, records, rankings and trends are current as of this writing at 6:30 p.m. ET on Monday, March 6, 2017.

Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards enter this contest having won three of their last four.

They have impressive victories over the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors, a loss to those same Raptors, and then an expected win over the Orlando Magic in their last outing.

On the year, the Wizards are averaging 108 points per game. That number is good enough for fifth in the NBA.

Defensively, this squad is allowing opponents to score 105.6 points per night. That number is good enough for 17th in the league.

Against Phoenix, controlling the pace is going to be crucial. The Suns like to play at a frantic pace and can score easy buckets when given the opportunity in transition.

For that same reason, controlling the ball is also going to be crucial. Phoenix struggles in half-court sets, so limiting turnovers means maximizing potential defensive opportunities against a squad like the Suns.

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns enter this contest having won an impressive three in a row.

Their wins have come against an admittedly struggling Charlotte Hornets, but the other team have more meaning against the Russell Westbrook-led Oklahoma City thunder and one of the East’s consensus best teams in the Boston Celtics.

The problem, of course, is that this team doesn’t actually want to win — at least as far as management is concerned with an eye on the future. Every win takes away a ping pong ball come time for the draft lottery.

But as far as we’re concerned, we’ll ask the question: Does Phoenix’s win over Boston (a second-tier East squad) give us reason to believe we’ll see the same outcome against the Wizards (a second-tier East squad)?

About PDX Knox

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